India quick commerce report, September 2026
September 2026 figures, published 14 October 2026 . Latest report: October 2026
Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket BB Now and Flipkart Minutes ran 7,030 dark stores in September 2026, up 1,405 from July 2026. Amazon Now had another 823 stores, added to the total from October 2026.
The change on July 2026 is not like for like, because coverage widened between the two readings.
- Dark stores, five apps
- 7,030
- Change on previous report
- +1,405
- Cities with a store
- Not counted
- New cities
- Not counted
- Blinkit 2,473 35%
- Zepto 1,330 19%
- Instamart 1,270 18%
- Flipkart Minutes 1,098 16%
- BB Now 859 12%
What stood out in September 2026
- Blinkit held about 35% of all five-app stores, the same share as in July.
- Food-safety officials got tougher on dark stores. Licences were suspended or stores sealed in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad between August and September.
- Fees moved in both directions. Zepto raised the order value for free delivery to ₹199, while Flipkart Minutes launched its own app with free delivery above ₹99.
- Swiggy shareholders cleared the way for Instamart to sell from its own stock, the model that lifted Blinkit’s revenue in 2025.
Dark stores by app: July 2026 vs September 2026
| App | Jul 2026 | Sept 2026 | Change | % change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blinkit | 1,955 | 2,473 | +518 | +26.5% | 35% |
| Zepto | 1,088 | 1,330 | +242 | +22.2% | 19% |
| Swiggy Instamart | 1,038 | 1,270 | +232 | +22.4% | 18% |
| Flipkart Minutes | 880 | 1,098 | +218 | +24.8% | 16% |
| BigBasket BB Now | 664 | 859 | +195 | +29.4% | 12% |
| All five | 5,625 | 7,030 | +1,405 | +25.0% | 100% |
| Amazon Now in the total from October 2026 | Not counted | 823 | Not counted | Not counted | Not in total |
The July 2026 and September 2026 readings had different coverage, so the changes overstate real openings.
Download the September 2026 figures (CSV)
Dark store totals in every report
| Report | Dark stores | Cities |
|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 8,241 | 498 |
| September 2026 | 7,030 | Not counted |
| July 2026 | 5,625 | 408 |
New stores, closures and new cities in September 2026
- These September figures come from the October 2026 update, which listed them as the previous month. There was no separate September count.
- The five-app total of 7,030 is 1,405 higher than the July 2026 compilation (5,625). The July figures were a lower bound and used an earlier method. So most of that gap comes from wider coverage, not two months of openings.
- Amazon Now’s September count (823) is worked out from its October 2026 count (853) and the change since September (+30).
Fee changes, rules and company news in September 2026
Covers August and September 2026, since no August report was published.
- Regulation 7 Aug 2026. Maharashtra FDA suspended the licence of Blinkit’s Malad West (Mumbai) facility over hygiene, expired stock and pests.
- Regulation 11 Aug 2026. Karnataka’s food safety department sealed Zepto’s Hoskote (Bengaluru) warehouse.
- Regulation 18 Aug 2026. Swiggy shareholders approved a 49.5% cap on foreign ownership, clearing the way for an inventory-led Instamart.
- Fees 19 Aug 2026. Zepto raised its free-delivery threshold from ₹149 to ₹199 (up to ₹299 at peak hours).
- Market Aug 2026. Flipkart Minutes had 627 stores in the top 10 cities, ahead of Instamart’s 615.
- Fees 9 Sep 2026. Flipkart launched a standalone Flipkart Minutes app with free delivery above ₹99 and, it said, no platform fee.
- Company Sep 2026. Flipkart said Flipkart Minutes had about 1,200 micro-fulfilment centres in 150+ cities, 4x a year earlier.
- Regulation 30 Sep 2026. Telangana’s food-safety team inspected 16 Hyderabad dark stores and suspended four licences: two Instamart, one Zepto and one Flipkart Minutes.
Fee changes like these are folded into delivery charges by app, and rule changes into the quick-commerce rules timeline.
Store counts and order values from company results
The latest figure each company had published by September 2026. Companies count stores their own way on the last day of a quarter, in their quarterly results, so the figures will not match our store counts.
| App | Metric | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blinkit | Dark stores | 2,443 | 30 Jun 2026 |
| Blinkit | Adjusted EBITDA | ₹102 crore | Apr–Jun 2026 |
| Blinkit | Net order value | ₹17,132 crore (+86% YoY) | Apr–Jun 2026 |
| Swiggy Instamart | Dark stores | 1,171 | 30 Jun 2026 |
| Swiggy Instamart | Cities | 131 | 30 Jun 2026 |
| Swiggy Instamart | Adjusted EBITDA | −₹778 crore | Apr–Jun 2026 |
| Swiggy Instamart | Gross order value | ₹7,907 crore (+39.8% YoY) | Apr–Jun 2026 |
| Zepto | Dark stores | 1,139 | 31 Mar 2026 |
| Zepto | Cities | 66 | 31 Mar 2026 |
What the totals include and leave out
The September 2026 total covers five apps. Amazon Now joined the total in October 2026. JioMart delivers from Reliance Stores, so they are counted separately and never added to the total. There was no separate reading for September 2026. These are the previous-month numbers from the October 2026 reading. Every reading goes through the same counting methodology each time.
Sources
- Eternal Q1 FY27 (MediaNama): Blinkit dark stores, 30 Jun 2026
- Inc42, 22 Jul 2026: Blinkit adjusted ebitda, Apr–Jun 2026
- Eternal Q1 FY27 (Kotak Neo): Blinkit net order value, Apr–Jun 2026
- Swiggy Q1 FY27 shareholder letter: Instamart dark stores, 30 Jun 2026
- Zepto UDRHP (via Chittorgarh): Zepto dark stores, 31 Mar 2026
- MediaNama, 7 Aug 2026
- MediaNama, 18 Aug 2026
- Telangana Today, 19 Aug 2026
- Entrackr, Aug 2026
- Inc42, 9 Sep 2026
- RetailIntel, Sep 2026
- South First, 30 Sep 2026